You will need to have certain types of information to submit an application or service request depending on the service requested. It is advised that you contact the Environmental Health Division to inquire about what information may be needed prior to visiting the office.

All children enrolled in Medicaid are required to have a blood lead test at 12 months, and again at 24 months of age. According to a statement released by the Center for Disease Control, data indicate some adverse effects have been documented in children with blood levels as low as 10 mcg/dl of whole blood. Call Carteret County Health Department at 252-728-8550 to see if your child is eligible for free testing or contact your physician to request a blood test specifically for lead levels. Only a few drops of blood from a child's finger are needed to test for lead.

Yes, effective treatments to remove lead from the body are available through your physician. First, the blood is tested and, if the levels are too high, treatment can be started. A recent study demonstrated that a child's I.Q. could improve if blood lead levels are lowered by medical treatment.

Fortunately, the incidence is low. Most of the buildings are relatively new, thanks to the new home building trends of the last 20 to 25 years. There are pockets of older and historic homes in the county that may have lead paint hazards, but for some reason there has been a lower rate of childhood lead poisoning in this county in comparison to other counties. But we can never have false confidence that lead poisoning does not exist. If you have concerns, speak to your physician.

If you have young children, are pregnant, or plan to become pregnant, have a thorough lead risk assessment done by a professional contractor who does not also do abatement work to avoid a conflict of interest. Assessment will typically involve a range of methods, including: visual inspection of paint condition and location; lab tests of paint samples; and surface dust tests. Several kits that test for the presence of lead in various sources are now available. There are certified contractors who will check your home for a fee.

Contact the North Carolina Health Hazards Control Unit at 919-733-0820 for a listing of North Carolina Lead Certified Inspectors or Risk Assessors. Carteret County Health Department does lead based paint investigations for free in the homes of children who are found to have elevated blood lead levels. For more information on identifying environmental lead hazards, please contact the Carteret County Environmental Health Department at 252-728-8499.

Lead paint removal should be done only by trained, certified professionals who are experienced in working with hazardous materials and special equipment. Beginning April 22, 2010, federal law requires that contractors performing renovation, repair and painting projects that disturb more than six square feet of paint in homes, child care facilities, and schools built before 1978 must be certified and trained to follow specific work practices to prevent lead contamination. For more information concerning the law, go to the EPA website. Protect your family and make sure you only hire a contractor who is in a Lead-Safe Certified Firm. Find a Lead-Safe Certified Firm near you.

There is no waiting period before you can file a report. In fact, the first 24 hours is the most important time frame to locate a missing person, so the sooner we have a report the sooner we can work to help locate the missing person. Very few missing peoples are the victim of foul play or some other criminal act. Most missing persons are found or return home within just a few days. If any foul play is suspected the investigation escalates accordingly.

The Sheriff's Office Patrol operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Administrative and detectives primarily work weekdays during normal business hours. For more information, contact the Sheriff's Office.

No, we will attempt to investigate an anonymous crime tip, however, court decisions impose limitations on investigations based solely on anonymous tips. We recognize that you may not want to be identified by the people you are reporting. If you have concerns, request that your information be kept confidential or that deputies not contact you when they respond.

Carteret County Sheriff's Office has a procedure for investigating complaints about individual officers or office procedures in general. For incidents involving Sheriff's Office personnel or procedures, you can call the office at (252) 728-8400. For incidents involving other local law enforcement agencies, you should contact the agency in question directly.

The Carteret County Sheriff's Office currently offers both Live Scan "inkless" fingerprinting technology and ink fingerprints. Live scan is the process used to digitally obtain and transmit fingerprints. This technology complies with all national standards and formats and can be used in place of inked cards, regardless of where the cards are being submitted.

A secure drop box has been installed in the main lobby of the Sheriff's Office. For more information about safely disposing of unwanted prescription drugs, please visit our Prescription Drug Drop Box page.

Copies of crime reports can generally be obtained from the Carteret County Sheriff's Office Records Division. There may be a period of delay during the report preparation and review process, so please consider calling the office first to check on the availability of the report. The records division can be reached at (252) 728-8400.

Applications for concealed weapons permits are processed by the Sheriff's Office. More information, including a downloadable application can be found here. Questions may be directed to (252) 5728-8400.

If you live in Carteret County, the Sheriff's Office will keep an eye on your house or property for you. Just call (252) 726-1911 and tell our dispatchers that you will be away and request special checks of your residence. Be prepared to provide the following information:Departure date & timeReturn date & timeIs your house alarmed?Any vehicles in the driveway?Are there any lights that will be left on or on timers?Any animals in the house?Anyone picking up mail/papers, mowing the lawn or with any other reason to be there?Emergency contact number (must have keys to residence or homeowner)

We cannot guarantee we can watch your home every minute of every day, but we will do our best to protect your property.

If you know someone that has a warrant on them, you may call the warrant division at (252) 728-8400, Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm. After hours, please call Carteret County dispatch at (252) 726-1911. Certain information cannot be given out to anyone other than the one named on the warrant.

By North Carolina General Statute definition, a private drinking water well means any excavation that is cored, bored, drill , jetted, dug, or otherwise constructed to obtain groundwater for human consumption. These wells are intended to serve 14 or fewer service connections or 24 or fewer individuals. This includes wells that supply water directly to private homes and small businesses.

The local health department will advise you in the treatment of your well if bacterial contamination is present after the initial chlorination. The well will need to be re-chlorinated and re-sampled. If this does not eliminate bacterial contamination, the state can be consulted.

After construction is complete, a sample for nutrient content will be sent to the State Lab for analysis. The nutrients screened include: pH, arsenic, lead, manganese, copper, zinc, calcium, magnesium, hardness, alkalinity, nitrates, nitrites, chloride, and fluoride.

Many of these contaminants are not hazardous to human health in low doses. Knowing the nutrient content that occurs naturally in your water can help when deciding whether or not water treatment is necessary, and if so, what water treatment equipment best suits your needs. Knowing what nutrients are found in your water can also help you and your medical care provider determine whether or not supplements to your diet are needed. If a hazardous contaminant, such as lead or arsenic, is found at levels unsafe for human consumption, the state may be consulted.